Texas House passes mandatory ultrasound bill without a rape or incest exception, 40 Days of Harassment starts tomorrow, Minnesota introduces fetal pain bill, and will internet-procured medication be the new back alley abortion?

The Texas state House passed a mandatory ultrasound bill yesterday, but differences between that legislation and the one passed by the Senate may complicate Governor Rick Perry’s plan to peek inside every woman’s uterus who wants to terminate a pregnancy. The House bill requires a 24 hour waiting period between the ultrasound and an abortion, and the punishment for physician non-compliance is the loss of medical license. The Senate version has a 2 hour waiting period, includes an exception for victims of rape, incest, or in cases of fetal anomaly, and does not have a penalty for doctors. The Senate sponsor says he does not have the votes for the House version. Texas House – no exception for rape or incest victims? Forcing a woman who was vaginally penetrated against her will to ONCE AGAIN be vaginally penetrated against her will is unconscionable.

Tomorrow marks the start of “40 Days of Harassing Women for their Private Medical Decisions,” also known as “40 Days for Life.” Clinics all over the country will be bombarded by people praying for an end to abortion (all the while likely opposing access to contraception and comprehensive sex education).

Minnesota is the latest state to introduce legislation on the false notion of “fetal pain.” Both the state House and Senate have introduced legislation that would ban abortion at 20 weeks.

In Ireland, where abortion is illegal, an increasing number of young women turn to buying medical abortion pills online to terminate their pregnancies. Medication bought online is of an unknown source, possibly of questionable purity, and is not taken under the care of a medical professional. As the article asks, will buying pills online be the new back alley abortion?

Don’t women already have ultrasounds performed right before the abortion procedure?? I thought that was a standard practice in order for the doctor to see how far along the pregnancy is and where exactly the embryo has attached itself in the uterus. I had an ultrasound performed right before my procedure. And afterwards, a nurse brought the printed picture to me so that I could see it. I was curious to see all these things because I had never been pregnant before. Anyway, I was just under the impression that ultrasounds prior to abortions were already part of the procedure.